Chapter 76

The interlude is from the perspective of a different character. This time, it's Yumiera's perspective.

In the capital of the Balshain Kingdom, a city that was once praised as the most prosperous in the surrounding countries, there is no sign of human presence. A girl stands alone on the balcony of the royal castle, gazing at the desolate streets below. Her face, hidden by long bangs, is unreadable. The only thing that can be discerned is the fact that no one has cut her overgrown black hair.

The black-haired girl, who overlooks the capital, is the one responsible for the destruction of not only the kingdom but the entire human race. Her name is Yumiera Dorkness. She mutters to herself with a self-deprecating tone.

"…Where did I go wrong?"

"Do you even realize you made a mistake?"

Yumiera's mutterings, which seemed to have no one to respond to, were answered. The voice was mixed with noise, and it was impossible to tell the gender or age of the speaker. Yumiera, showing no surprise at the invisible speaker, continued the conversation calmly.

"…Well, I must have been wrong."

"Are you regretting your control over the monsters and the extermination of humans?"

"Now, there's no way I can regret or repent. I'm not the only one who made the wrong choice. Everyone around me, the whole world, was wrong. This is the end result."

"Right! This world is wrong. That's why I will liberate it."

The voice of Yumiera's conversation partner grew stronger.

While Yumiera was reflecting on her life, filled with mistakes, she was annoyed that this still unknown entity tended to ramble on.

The first mistake was being born. She had often resented being born into this world, her appearance, and her circumstances. If only her hair color had been something other than black. If only she had been born into a noble family. If only she had been born in a country where black hair was not taboo. She had dreamed of many "what ifs," but none of them could be changed.

"Well, my younger self was foolish."

In her childhood, Yumiera had been desperate to be loved by her parents. She had always felt a loneliness that she believed her father and mother would surely resolve. The kind and strict parents she knew only from stories. She had believed she would eventually meet them and be warmly embraced. With this illusion, she had studied hard in the Dorkness territory until she entered the academy.

Even during her school days, she had pursued an impossible wish. She had flattered and fawned over the duke's daughter, whom she secretly despised, to maintain her position within the faction. This led to her being targeted by the royal family, and she was quickly discarded.

All her hopes were cut off. More accurately, there had never been any hope to begin with.

She realized this obvious fact around her third year at the academy. Around that time, the news of the demon king's revival spread throughout the kingdom. The demon king, Yumiera's new hope. Surely, the demon king would destroy those who had oppressed her, this worthless kingdom, and this world with no value.

"Maybe it was my reliance on others that was the problem."

Yumiera spoke as if it were someone else's story, her voice devoid of emotion.

Her hope was gone again. The demon king was defeated, and a new hero and holy maiden were celebrated throughout the kingdom.

Yumiera was convinced at the bottom of her heart. She should not rely on anyone. The only one she could trust was herself.

And she made a decision. She would destroy the world in place of the disappointing demon king.

She had always known that her power was stronger than others and that she could wield powerful elemental magic. She had hidden her strength even though she knew it.

She had been afraid of being disliked even more, so she had not used her power during her childhood and school days. Now, after being shunned so much, she wondered why she had been so afraid, but at the time, she had been genuinely terrified.

Thus, Yumiera began her path as a hidden boss.

She met the invisible figure shortly after.

To the figure, who was still spouting resentful words, Yumiera spoke bluntly.

"Hey."

"---There is definitely someone who looks down on this world."

"Hey!"

"Enjoying it as entertainment...? What's wrong?"

"...Nothing."

From the beginning, this invisible mysterious figure had no intention of having a conversation. He only said what he wanted to say unilaterally.

Yumiera didn't even know his name. Though it was inconvenient to have no one else to talk to, she called him a demon god in her heart.

Yumiera recalled a few months ago. The first words he said to her were, "You will die if you continue like this." A warning that she would be killed by Alicia and the others if she continued as she was.

He then proposed an unconventional method of leveling up, a brutal training method that no living being would think of.

Noticing Yumiera's displeasure, the voice spoke with a caring tone.

"What's wrong? You're invading the neighboring world tomorrow, you know?"

"Ah... I'll definitely go. You really don't consider other people's situations, do you? It's no wonder you came up with that crazy leveling method."

"That's not it. The method I taught you was not something I came up with."

"Ah? Who else could it be?"

"You are the one who executed it. The you from a parallel world. The one you will fight tomorrow."

The one Yumiera would fight was her parallel self. She had heard about it before, but she had never expected it to be her. She had assumed that the other self would have a similarly gloomy life...

Yumiera became interested in this other self, someone she had never been interested in before.

"What's this other me like? Different from me?"

"Completely different. Even I, who can't distinguish between humans, can tell. He is much stronger than you."

"What do you mean? Then why don't you have that me kill me? You just want more subordinates with no level cap, right?"

"Hmm... That won't work. The you from the other world has no weaknesses. He doesn't hate the world like you do. He's a difficult opponent."

Yumiera couldn't imagine a self that didn't hate the world. Even if she could go back and redo her life, she would still hate this world.

"Why is there such a self?"

"The reason is simple. I arranged it."

"Specifically?"

"I had my eye on you. Your abilities are overwhelming among humans. I wanted you as a pawn. But you were going to die. No matter how much I interfered, the outcome wouldn't change."

Yumiera remembered her battle with Alicia and the others. The fight was a close call. If she hadn't gone through that crazy leveling, she would have definitely died. They were that strong, and she was the worst match for them.

The voice explained what he had done.

"So, I thought I'd try something. I put another soul inside you. A weak soul drifting in the dimensional gap. I was in a lot of trouble, so I decided to try it."

"That's the one I'm fighting?"

"Exactly. It was an unexpected find. He even found something I had lost. It's astonishing."

"How does this other me live?"

"Like a lord? He lives doing nothing. A truly boring person."

"Hmm. I'm not interested."

Becoming a lord meant inheriting the title of count from her father. Yumiera couldn't imagine how that had happened.

Yumiera reflected on her life again.

She had pretended not to notice, but there had been a way to save herself. Help was within reach.

First, she could have lived on her own strength. With her power, she could have survived in any country.

Second, she could have sought help from others.

Elenora, whom she had despised, had been manipulated by others and was not a bad person. If she had humbly asked for help, things might have been different.

The last person Yumiera remembered was the one who occasionally spoke to her at the academy.

He had genuinely cared about her, asking if she had any troubles. He had been a definite source of hope for Yumiera. However, she had pushed away this hand of salvation. She had avoided getting close to him because he was from a border lord's family and had little influence in the kingdom's center.

"The center doesn't seem as corrupt. Maybe I could have lived peacefully in a border lord's territory... Hey—"

She almost said his name but covered her mouth. She knew he had died in the wave of monsters, as good as killed by her.

"What's wrong? You seem to be losing your fighting spirit again?"

"That's not true. I can't go back now. I've decided to kill everyone I don't like."

Yumiera was glad to learn about her peaceful parallel self. Knowing a self so different from her made her resolve stronger.

There was only one thing left to destroy.